JAMES MONROE    1815
       
RETURN TO THE HOMEPAGE                                                                                                                                                                                                                             THE OCEAN LINERS

 

Welcome to our James Monroe website celebrating this remarkable and exceptionally historic transatlantic sailing packet. This ship pioneered the scheduled transatlantic crossing and in many ways is the sailing predecessor of the transatlantic ocean liner. This website celebrates the history of this pioneering ship and honours its unique place in maritime history in the birth of the transatlantic crossing. 

The Black Ball Line was founded in 1817. Owned by a group of American merchants, it owned and operated a fleet of sailing packets, purchased from various shipbuilders, that sailed between New York and Liverpool on regular sailing dates, the first and fifteenth of every month. The James Monroe was the ship that inaugurated this pioneering scheduled transatlantic service in 1818.

On the 5th January 1818, the full-rigged American ship James Monroe, of the Black Ball Line, sailed from New York City for Liverpool, inaugurating common-carrier line service on a dependable schedule. A policy of sailing regularly and accepting cargo in less-than-shipload lots enabled the Black Ball Line to revolutionize shipping.

The James Monroe stayed in service until 1850 when she was wrecked off the Tasmanian coast with all hands being saved in a daring and dramatic rescue by a passing vessel. Thus ended the story of the sailing packet that inaugurated the scheduled transatlantic crossing and thus made maritime history. Indeed this historic legacy still continues today with Cunard Line and their regular transatlantic crossing with the RMS Queen Mary 2. So the legend lives on!
   


S.V. JAMES MONROE

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~ The First Scheduled Transatlantic Sailing Packet ~

~ The Sailing Pioneer of the Transatlantic Crossing ~









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Her Regular Service Route: The United States of America (USA) to Great Britain

New York to Liverpool transatlantic packet service

"THE TRANSATLANTIC CROSSING"

THE BLACK BALL LINE, NEW YORK

(c) The AJN Transport Britain Collection 2008                                                                                                                                                                                 A Edward Elliott